Tales of a dreamer

Biographies assume poignance, especially when they come from the children of illustrious figures in social and political history. From that perspective, Seema Ahmad's work on her father is a much-needed insight into the work of one of the more distinguished of Bengalis, one whose career in the civil service, indeed in the nation's diplomacy has been a looking back at the high quality which once underlined the profundity defining public service in Bangladesh. 

Muslehuddin Ahmad, for those who have not forgotten him as also for those who need to explore his career, is among those personalities whose contributions to the formative nature of the civil administration in Bangladesh remain points of reference for researchers and scholars.

Seema Ahmad highlights the man in all comprehensiveness. And that essentially draws the readers' attention to the enlightenment Muslehuddin Ahmad brought about, post-retirement, in the nation's educational arena. 

North South University, today a pre-eminent symbol of private education at the higher levels in Bangladesh, remains a testimony to the pioneering efforts Ahmad expended in his zeal for the academic landscape in the country to expand beyond what it was till the early 1990s. 

The writer brings to her readers, in graphic detail, the sheer enthusiasm which Ahmad, in association with and encouragement from his family, set out on the road to what one could call a reconfiguring of education in Bangladesh. 

And yet there comes with the narration of a remarkable tale, a story of heartbreak, one that refers to the delinking of Muslehuddin Ahmad from a university which he fathered and caused to be projected before the world.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters, from a reader's point of view, is fundamentally the story of an individual whose career was a combination of devotion to family and public service. The writer's love for her father is etched on every page of the work, beginning as it does with the marriage of her parents. 

The underlying principle of the book, as the subtitle makes clear, is the struggle of Muslehuddin Ahmad in setting up the very first private university in Bangladesh. PHOTO: COLLECTED

The young Muslehuddin Ahmad is a reminder for many of an era when Bangladesh, long before it became Bangladesh, was home to the brilliance of young people determined to make a mark on their society. 

Ahmad, as a diplomat in the pre-1971 era, brought that certain flair to his work that was to remain a defining aspect of his character. In independent Bangladesh, be it in the area of taxation or civil aviation, Ahmad was to leave his imprints. 

Seema Ahmad narrates the background to Ahmad's contribution to Bangladesh Biman, the nation's fledgling airline, in 1972. When approached by General MAG Osmany, who asked him to take charge of Biman, Muslehuddin Ahmad was perturbed. 

He certainly had other thoughts he needed to explore. But then came the moment of decision, through Ahmad's meeting with Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who made it clear that Ahmad was needed to put Biman into shape. 

Ahmad's response that he needed to go abroad in the interest of his children's education soon gave way to succumbing to Bangabandhu's desire and, of course, charisma. Muslehuddin Ahmad took over as the first chairman of Bangladesh Biman.

Seema Ahmad's recollections of the times when her father served as the nation's top diplomat in Romania recreate images of an era about which she is brutally frank. The economic difficulties that communist states struggled through, with shelves in the shops woefully displaying an absence of food items, are reflections that underline the work. 

Nicolae Ceausescu's Romania was not a perfect instance of socialism and yet the writer narrates the sense of sadness which overcame Muslehuddin Ahmad, by then having finished his stint in Bucharest, when he learnt of Ceausescu's ouster and murder. 

The story of Ahmad's meeting with Yasser Arafat is interspersed with an element of the comic when the Palestinian envoy in Bucharest asks the writer, a very young woman yet to be out of school if she would like to marry Arafat. 

As she puts it, "I was in grade 10 and Arafat was already fifty!" In more ways than one, the work is as much a narrative relating to the writer's schooldays in Bangladesh and abroad as it is about the incidents, often innocuous, she relates in the telling of the tale. 

Muslehuddin Ahmad's meeting with Nelson Mandela on a visit to South Africa was certainly a high point in his interactions with prominent global personalities.

The underlying principle of the book, as the subtitle makes clear, is the struggle of Muslehuddin Ahmad in setting up the very first private university in Bangladesh. The endless meetings with ministers, the red tape involved in popularising and implementing the dream, for a dream it was for Muslehuddin Ahmad, the last-minute hurdles to Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's presence at the official inauguration of NSU on 10 February 1993, the spontaneity with which then opposition leader Sheikh Hasina welcomed the emergence of the university, the endless and tiring-cum-tireless search for sponsors and donors, the decision to have a president of the university rather than a vice-chancellor --- all of these underline the history of NSU. 

But then comes the heartbreak, which of course relates to how Ahmad found himself removed from NSU. Seema Ahmad does not mince words here. She names the individuals she believes had a hand in taking charge of NSU through engineering Muslehuddin Ahmad's removal from the scene. In the process, the loyalty of some colleagues and students to Ahmad is duly noted by the writer.

Seema Ahmad moves on, to recount the efforts --- and new heartbreak --- that was to punctuate Muslehuddin Ahmad's academic endeavours through the setting up of Presidency University. 

For a man instrumental in the establishment of two private universities in the country, how his contributions were to be sidelined constitute a sad, indeed a tragic account of a particular phase in the life of a dreamer. 

In large measure, Bridge Over Troubled Waters is the life story of an individual since it is the history of a family dedicated to the promotion of public weal. In social circumstances where superannuated bureaucrats sit back, to spend time reading and spend time with their families, Muslehuddin Ahmad turned out to be a happy departure from the rule.

He had his vision, which attained realistic mode at NSU. The writer dwells on the difficulties faced by NSU following her father's departure from the institution, obviously as an expression of her disquiet over how she feels Muslehuddin Ahmad was betrayed by many he had through were his friends and well-wishers. He could have prevented those difficulties from taking shape, the writer feels, had he not been shown the door.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters speaks of the odyssey of a man who would not rest easy in his intellectual peregrinations, not until the twilight put an end to his journey. The journey ended on 10 September 2012. The legacy has endured. 

Syed Badrul Ahsan is a columnist and book reviewer.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

A Daughter's Memoir of the Man Behind North South University

Seema Ahmad

Academic Press and Publishers Library, Dhaka

ISBN 978-984-8045-65-7